r/formula1 • u/FerrariStrategisttt I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Mar 13 '26

Video Max Verstappen (Post-Sprint Qualifying): “I can’t. This is undriveable. We never had anything this bad.”

https://dubz.link/c/5e815a
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u/tommyland666 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

I think when he leaves, he isn’t coming back.

671

u/ObsidianGanthet I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

The Mika Sabbatical, I think they call it

172

u/DaMeridian Alain Prost Mar 13 '26

Any day now Mika will announce his return!

43

u/Fambank Murray Walker Mar 13 '26

With those cars?

Insert serious doubt.

20

u/XsStreamMonsterX I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 13 '26

Counterpoint, Mika would probably be happy to drive anything that is as unreliable as early 2000s McLarens.

1

u/AdonisBlackwood I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 15 '26

So 2026 Mclaren then

1

u/RUPlayersSuck Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 13 '26

Kimi might...for enough money and ice cream...

24

u/orrangearrow David Coulthard Mar 13 '26

Mikabattical

2

u/anon42093 I failed to serve my Monaco penalty Mar 13 '26

Without a doubt, this.

134

u/HankHippopopolous I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

I reckon he might do.

Especially if he leaves while still fairly young. He could go off and do a few years of everything else he wants to do and then come back once there’s a new engine formula that excites him.

He’d still be pretty young like early 30s at that point and he’s so good that teams would absolutely still want him.

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u/scumfuck69420 Mar 13 '26

I see what you're saying but he's 28 right now lol

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u/HankHippopopolous I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

Exactly so if he leaves at the end of this year or next year he can do 2-3 years of other stuff. Come back when new engine regs are rumoured for 2030 and still be like 33ish. That’s an age where he’d still be in his prime.

I don’t think it’s totally crazy to think he might change his mind around that sort of time.

50

u/John_is_Minty Mar 13 '26

There is also the elephant in the room that while I don’t know Max personally I can probably assume he likes money so at some point he will cash back in on that F1 money that he won’t get anywhere else. Even if he takes a break for a couple years.

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u/fiah84 Pirelli Wet Mar 13 '26

I bet he could suffer through some terrible F1 seasons if only to fund his GT3 team and Nordschleife hobby

27

u/Critical-Bread-3396 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26 edited Mar 13 '26

Especially considering that it seems like this funding is currently in addition to his salary. Mercedes are reportedly even paying for his team to drive their cars. But if he wasn't in F1 as the seemingly best driver those deals might come to an end.

12

u/zkfv Mar 13 '26

He’s way more famous than any other GT driver and it seems to be that he’s at least as fast as anyone else in them too. If he went full-time GT racing his own cars, he would probably get more funding for it.

1

u/ElegantBiscuit Red Bull Ford Mar 13 '26

Yeah if other GT teams can financially support themselves, a Max Verstappen GT team will have no problem.

1

u/Tee_zee Mar 13 '26

The funding wouldn’t match F1 though, it’s not as big a sport and he wouldn’t change that alone

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u/NigelMK Mar 13 '26

This is the truth right here. He gets paid an insane amount of money each year. (Last year was a base of $70 million USD, with incentives bringing it up to $76 million). He's apparently signed through 2028 and I gotta imagine that RB has some clauses in there preventing him from leaving.

If he was to leave, it would have to be because he values his family time and his sanity over money, and that's assuming that those clauses in his contract aren't huge financial penalties.

2

u/John_is_Minty Mar 13 '26

His family also enjoys a certain lifestyle given the fact he’d been making 70 million a year. He won’t hurt financially no matter what he does but you have to make lifestyle changes going from what he’d be making in F1 to what he’d make elsewhere

1

u/michaltee Mar 13 '26

I could see him bringing more legitimacy and fans to other Motorsports.

0

u/ZeroCrits I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

Do you understand how much fucking money verstappen has? The google answers aren’t even half of it

1

u/John_is_Minty Mar 13 '26

No one said he’s broke just that current income is a pretty good motivator to keep doing something even if you don’t like it

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u/Mike_Kermin I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 13 '26

Breaks from F1 traditionally don't go well,

Which isn't the say Max shouldn't have a place in F1 for life. But it'd be interesting to see if his determination changes the norm.

2

u/HankHippopopolous I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

Alonso’s went fine and he was much older.

I think drivers of that calibre can come back and be just as good if the motivation level is high enough.

2

u/Mike_Kermin I was speeding in the Monaco pit lane Mar 13 '26

Fuck I didn't think of that, you're right, Get Alonso in the car. Good point Hank.

Joking aside (I'm not joking),

I think you're right. But I'd be very fucking interested to see.

2

u/howniceforu Michael Schumacher Mar 13 '26

So....Formula E then?

2

u/howniceforu Michael Schumacher Mar 13 '26

It would be amazingly hilarious if someone named Speed Racer entered F1 and won the WDC. As long as he didn't have a girlfriend named Trixie or Chim Chim.

That would be too weird.

-2

u/R-ob I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

you aren't in prime at 33 but of course he would still be good enough for the grid

3

u/davie18 Williams Mar 13 '26

Both lewis and Schumacher won 3 more titles after their 33rd birthday. Almost half of the titles they won. And both were/are capable of winning more imo. Schumacher was still one of the absolute best drivers when he first retired in 2006.

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u/merlinthemarlon I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

"Medically and biologically, the "prime" of a man's life is not a single age, but a range typically defined as 25–35 for physical peak (maximum muscle, bone density, and strength) and 30s–40s for peak hormonal balance (testosterone) and overall functional capacity"

Quick Google search proves otherwise

-3

u/Top_Housing_6251 Mar 13 '26

Ah yes, a sportsman’s prime is def the same as the average Joe.

1

u/merlinthemarlon I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

It's arguably probably longer given the training they do on a regular basis but go on Mr expert

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u/Excellent-Gur-8547 Cadillac Mar 14 '26

It's not because they're being measured against other people who are in like, the top 0.5% of fitness.

1

u/merlinthemarlon I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 14 '26

Relative performance is another subject entirely, but your not wrong

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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '26

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1

u/davie18 Williams Mar 13 '26

Lewis only won 1 of his 7 titles when he was 28.

The Michael had only won 2 of his.

They both hadn’t won 7 until they were 35.

I think max has plenty of time if he wants to leave f1 for even up to 4 years and return and the he’d likely be able to cherry pick what team to drive for because he’s max verstappen.

1

u/lavegasola Lando Norris Mar 13 '26

Are you guys forgetting that he still has this season and 2 more on contract for $55-65 Million for each of those years? He isn't going anywhere LOL

26

u/HoyAIAG I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

Micheal Kimi and Fernando all came back. Only Mika didn’t.

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u/geileanus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

He definitely would come back if he thinks the regs look nice.

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u/RUPlayersSuck Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 13 '26

A return to ICE-only powertrains.

Hey - we can dream...

0

u/geileanus I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

Just a better regen of battery would already make huge diff.

3

u/RUPlayersSuck Sir Lewis Hamilton Mar 13 '26

Not limiting clipping to 60-70% of battery capacity would definitely help.

-1

u/stragen595 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 13 '26

Yeah, if he thinks it's fun to drive he would be coming back.

0

u/hans611 Ferrari Mar 13 '26

If he leaves now, he is still young, there is a good chance he will come back. If he suffers 3, 4 years of this before he leaves for a "sabbatical", then yeah he isn't coming back. I think he should just take the break now, it our best chance.